“Paradox and Dream”
Steinbeck has determined that Americans seem to be living in a perpetual state of anxiety in the mid-1960’s because of a constant tension of paradox of beliefs. The urge to succeed is followed by apprehension that success doesn’t breed contentment. America prides itself on being found on equitable laws applicable to everyone, but are willing to break those laws at every opportunity. American democracy is extolled as a government run by politicians elected on the basis of the issues, yet most people are blissfully unaware of the issues, preferring to base their vote on religious affiliation, personal character, or even which candidate is better looking. “
Duel without Pistols”
This essay was published in Collier’s Magazine in 1952 as an explanation for another piece written as a response to what he perceived as a character assassination in an Italian communist newspaper. “Duel Without Pistols” recounts how it was that complete by accident he and the US general commanding NATO happened to be staying in the same hotel at the same time. The communist newspaper took advantage of coincidence to try to turn Steinbeck into a communist mouthpiece in opposition to NATO command. When he wrote a response, it was rejected as being too long and the result ultimately was the publication of a severely edited version which Steinbeck did not approve.
“D for Dangerous”
This is possibly a satirical essay on the issue of punishing those who careless driving, but it is hard to tell. Steinbeck rejects the efficacy of the current system of increased limitations on the ability to drive in favor of public humiliation. After the third such offense, the penalty would be a large red “D” attached to the driver’s license plate which would inform all who see it that the person behind the wheel presents an immediate threat.
“About Ed Ricketts”
Ricketts was a close and dear friend of Steinbeck. Dear enough that the author immortalized his friend as by fictionalizing him into a character in a novel. In addition, an incident that occurred in Rickett’s Monterey laboratory was the impetus behind the strand short story, “The Snake.” This essay was written to honor his good friend in the wake of his shocking death at the hands of a speeding train colliding with a Buick that had stalled right over the railroad track.
“The Black Man’s Ironic Burden”
This 1961 essay published in one of the most popular periodicals in American history—the Saturday Review—contends that blacks must live up to almost impossibly high standards to receive just the same recognition that an average white person receives from other white people. He also takes note that the family of those children making life for miserable for the pioneers of school desegregation will expend their legacy on denying their child was ever involved.
“The Joan in All of Us”
Steinbeck ponders why it is that writers find it almost impossible not to be drawn to Joan of Arc as fodder for a potential writing project. He finds the answer to be related to a universal dream existing within us all: that rules can be violated and dreams made real. The attraction of Joan’s story is based on the fact that there is no way possible according to everything we know of history that her story could ever possibly have actually happened. And yet it did.
“Random Thoughts on Random Dogs”
The structure of this essay itself almost veers into the arena of random, but remains satisfied with being some loose and digressive. Over the course of the essay, the reader learns why the domestication of dogs should be considered equitable to the discovery of fire in the evolution of man, how women in the Middle Ages carried small dogs as a means of controlling the spread of fleas on themselves, and that the coolest dog in the world—the bull terrier—is Steinbeck’s conception of the ideal canine.
